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From Luke’s Journal February 2024 | Vol.29 No.1 | Missions and Sacrificial Service

“What do you want to do when you grow up?”
This was a common question posed to me as I approached the final years of high school. Sometimes it was coupled with “Do you want to be a doctor like your dad?” – as if it was just some rite of passage.

The answer to those questions would change depending on who was asking and how I felt on any given day. The truth is that at the age of 15, I didn’t really know what I wanted to ‘be’ when I ‘grew up’ – except maybe an NBA (National Basketball Association) player or a professional race car driver.

Like many who grew up going to church, I tried to turn my back on God towards the end of high school and live my own way. But in my second year of university, I felt God calling me back to him, and vowed to never reject him again.

My first ministry training was attending the Katoomba Youth Leaders Convention (KYLC) even though I wasn’t a leader – probably because most of my friends went. A couple of years later I co-led a Year 10 Sunday School group. That was the beginning of me being ‘actively involved in ministry’.

While studying medicine, I was involved in coordinating a young adults group and leading a Bible study group within that. During this time, I started to wonder how I could serve God after graduating medicine. So I attended some missions conferences and enquired about Mercy Ships¹ and the possibility of serving in a missionary hospital or in countries where access to foreigners and the gospel was difficult.

It was in my penultimate year studying medicine when I attended a conference that aimed to encourage people into full-time ministry. People came from all different backgrounds, not just medical, and there were students as well as full-time workers in attendance. It was such an encouragement to see young men and women keen to commit to a lifetime of service to the gospel. At this conference I was challenged to consider quitting medicine to focus on ministry. Although it just didn’t sit right that God would bring me this far in medicine only for me to give it up, nevertheless I struggled with this notion for a while. In the end, however, I was convinced that God wanted me to finish my studies.

“It just didn’t sit right that God would bring me this far in medicine only for me to give it up, nevertheless I struggled with this notion for a while.”

I went on a short-term overseas mission with three friends at the end of that year during which we prayed fervently – that I would pass my final written exams – and praise God I did! After graduating and getting married as a first year intern, my wife and I were again involved in lay ministry as Bible study leaders and in a music team. We’d chosen to be part of a church plant after being in larger churches (over one hundred people). This gave us a small insight into the challenges of running a church with fewer resources whilst also trying to grow the church.

My wife and I had discussed going to Sydney Missionary and Bible College (SMBC) together, but because of residency and specialist training we decided that she would go first. She studied for two years before we had our first child. In that time, I saw her passion for the gospel grow and a keenness to consider vocational ministry. When we moved out of Sydney to the Far North Coast to complete my general practice (GP) training, we didn’t know it would take ten years until I’d have the chance to attend SMBC myself.

I went to Bible college, not knowing where God would lead us, but just wanting to be equipped with more understanding and knowledge of the Bible. Whilst SMBC is renowned as a ‘missionary Bible college’, students often go on to be involved in local church ministry. A high proportion of graduates even stay in metropolitan Sydney. However, during my time in the college, I did meet a number of doctors who had gone on from SMBC to work overseas as missionaries.

In my final year at SMBC we seemed set to aim for an overseas role as a local medical officer on the field for missionaries in Asia. In hindsight, I now recall that ministers from my previous Presbytery had kept enquiring if I would return and help fill some vacant minister roles in churches up north. I’d said “No” for two and a half years, but with borders closing because of the pandemic, heading overseas looked less and less likely, and with school-aged children, the timing of any major relocation was important. We felt God calling us to head back to the Northern Rivers.

The Church in rural Australia is in great need, not only in our region or our denomination, but Australia-wide. Even once strong Bible-belt areas are becoming more secular along with society and culture. Rural churches are struggling for regular attendants and people to be involved in lay ministry, and fewer churches can afford a full-time minister. In our area, the cost of housing and lack of white-collar jobs is also prohibitive to people looking to relocate there. But there are certain professions that enable people to move more freely out of metropolitan areas – and healthcare is one of them.

My journey to bi-vocational ministry started with me just wanting to be part of a church family where I would be fed and encouraged and welcomed. I was then challenged, I believe by the Holy Spirit, to contribute to my church family in any way I could, despite not really wanting to (e.g. through becoming an elder). I had unwittingly equipped myself for roles which hadn’t yet eventuated by going to KYLC and SMBC. At the end of the day, I just wanted to be prepared for whatever God might call me to do, even if that meant being a good father, husband and GP. God will use us in any way that he sees fit.

My favourite Bible verse is not the usual reminder of God’s comfort or love or grace, but one I can live my life by, and one that also speaks of God’s sovereignty:

“The heart of man plans his way,
    but the Lord establishes his steps.”
(Proverbs 16:9 ESV)

I never planned to be in pastoral ministry, but God had other plans.

I am currently employed part-time as the minister of Byron Bay Presbyterian Church and my wife is employed with them one day a week. On Sundays we get anywhere from twenty to forty people with a good dose of visitors throughout the year. We have a small core who serve at church but we are still under-resourced and mindful of burnout. When we first came to the Northern Rivers we were the young(ish) keen Christians that our minister needed to encourage him and support the church. Now we pray for the same to join our church family.

If you have ever considered ministry I would encourage you to look at rural ministry opportunities – there are many. If you have ever considered escaping the hustle and bustle of city living, then consider rural areas where it is also not as difficult to find a job in healthcare. The addition of one or two faithful members to a small church family is like oxygen to a minister who might barely be treading water, and a massive encouragement to the congregation as a whole.

Finally, if you have considered leaving your profession to pursue full-time ministry, consider that God has given you both options to be used wisely and faithfully, and that you have the opportunity to use both skills for the glory of God and to build up His kingdom.

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